Ski Instructor Courses (long ones)

A snowHead

Just been having a look at a couple of these 10-13 week all-inclusive type ski instructor courses. In particular this one with the Rookie Academy in Colorado which promises PSIA L2 for $14450 (http://www.rookieacademy.com/ski_us.html). They've also got one based in NZ which offers dual NZSIA BASI quals.

Wondering if anyone has any experience with these kind of courses?? The bloke told me on the phone they have something like 90% of graduates getting an instructor job (at the bottom I'm sure).

Quite attractive because you can get the a career development loan to pay (APR 5% ish).

Thanks! Neil.

A snowHead

Hi NKS i have just booked up with non stop ski for an 11 week ski instructor course in fernie for £7000. I had been looking and planning for some time and from the info i gathered from peoples reviews and and the companies themselves non stop looked the best of the bunch they also did a preview day in which i attended which i found useful as they were willing to answer any questions and you could also see from talking to the guys that they had a real passion for what they were doing.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

pay me 14K and i will guarantee an L2 pass or refund 100%.... Toofy Grin

seriously dont do it. learn how to ski in your own time, get soem tuition from a good trainer and when ready take the PSIA exam

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

nks, if you're happy to spend that kind of money then go for it. But it seems like an incredibly expensive way of getting your first instructor qualifications. If your skiing is close to the level required why not get a bit of focused coaching and just do the courses? The money you save can be spent on skiing if you want, or going forward to the next level of qualification. If your skiing is not up to standard then these courses can be a good way of getting there.

You'll need to Register first of course.

All-in courses are expensive because they are all-in. If you can sort your own accomodation and lift pass you'll usually find you can do the actual instructor cert courses a lot cheaper. Basically you pay a premium to have stuff organised for you & a gang of mates - it works for some.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Noo.. not really happy spending that much money! Only interested because of the 5% APR loan Smile

Would prefer to take it slowly really as it's my experience from other stuff like mountain biking and climbing that fast track instructors are not really so good! Probably a month of personal skiing would be a better idea.. Just bewildered by the hassle of finding accommodation for that long.

Oh well, cheers for the input so far Smile

After all it is free

nks, seriously take an L1 BASI course in the UK for a few hundred and you will get a clear understanding of how much work your personal skiing needs to improve (if at all) to get to L2. If you are already there you can quickly get your L2 and start to teach. You really dont need to spank out that kinda cash, 5% or no....

where would you like to teach post qualification? if EU take an Eu course, if USA PSIA, etc

good luck with it !!!

nks, what skimottaret, said.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

nks,

I generally agree with the advice you've had so far, with the proviso that as you say, you can already ski, and by that meaning to a standard at least within stretching distance of Level 2. If this is indeed the case then doing Level 1, then some focussed training, then Level 2 would be quicker and both far easier and far cheaper. However if you still need quite a bit of work to reach Level 2, I can see the convenience and therefore value of doing a long all-in course that would give you the time and distance on skis you would need.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

ScottishSkier did something similar to the NZ one. Apparently they run one for northern hemisphere people during the week (costs a fortune) and run something else for the locals at the weekend (doesn't cost so much). He did the latter one as part of a season bumming.

The all in thing seems to cater for people who want or need some sort of structure to a gap year or career sabbatical (bankers wondering where their lives went) but who do not necessarily want to be instructors later. Many of these people would be better off admitting that they really want to be idle for 5 months and ski bumming properly.

Season accommodation + pass for 5 months should cost no more than £3,000 (mine for this season will be about £2,100). If you spend about £100 a week on food that will rack out at about £2,200 or so. The cash gap between the DIY route and the organised route should be obvious - leaving you money to spend on instruction, language tuition if you need it and waste on gear.

snow reports

BASI2 vs CSIA2 anyone? I seem to think they're reasonably equivilant? Just wondering to put the thread in context...

You know it makes sense.

Don't take a career development loan (or any loan) out to do it - you will not be able to pay it back through your earnings as an instructor (if you also need to support yourself) for many many years.

If your main aim is to qualify as an instructor there are much cheaper ways to do it, as others have said. The BASI L1 can be done indoors in the UK and would cost you no more than a few hundred quid, especially if it's close to home or you can stay with a friend. The level for this qualification is really not high - basic parallel on red runs, and if you are a quick learner who is able to change the way you ski it is pretty achievable. There is a big jump up to L2, but doing the L1 will give you an idea of how much time it's going to take you to get there. In between L1 and L2 you'll need to do 70 hours shadowing. The L2 is then a 2 week course on snow, and once you'd done that you'll be able to get a job teaching in the mountains. The job options will be limited however, and you may not get enough work to cover your living costs in your first few seasons. However, you will get plenty of time to work on your personal skiing and get to the L3 standard, at which point your job options and pay will improve.

Of course I've only mentioned BASI - if you want to work in Canada CSIA may be better (but you can still get jobs in Canada with a BASI qualification). However, if you don't want to / can't afford to give up your day job whilst you qualify, and you're based in the UK, BASI is probably the best option.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

There are definitely cheaper ways to do it, but I did my CSIA level 1 and 2 qualifications in Whistler through nonstop, I had an awesome time and learnt LOADS. Nonstop are really good they include everything in the price of GBP 7,000, I had my own room in a nice house, flights, all the lessons and stuff, even food 5 nights a week at local restaurants. It had a really good team spirit and everyone did really well in their exams.

Whilst on the course I met a guy from Australia who recommended me to his boss at his ski school in Australia which is where I am right now having just finished off my first season as a qualified instructor. I sat my APSI level 2 exams this year and topped the level, highest marks in the whole state. A lot of this success is a direct result from how much I improved and learnt as a result of the 12 week nonstop course and a lot of hard work and obsessing about skiing of course.

I couldn't ski for poo-poo before I started the course in January this year, I was a park rat who could just about land a 360', thought I was awesome, naturally. Then I learnt how to ski properly and now 8 months later I have my ISIA stamp as I also sat (and topped) my Disabled Wintersports Australia exams which qualifies me to instruct people with a disability. As part of the nonstop course we got to do (for free) a bunch of activities like cat skiing etc. I did an avalanche course and some other fun stuff so I'm fully ISIA qualified now.

I wouldn't be in this position if I hadn't of opted for the "zero to hero" type course in Whistler. They are what you make them, if you seriously want to become an instructor and you don't want to take ages to get there then go for it. You'll meet loads of great people on the course and if you give it everything you've got then you'll get a lot out of it.

Yeah its a lot of money but its better spending it on something like this rather than beer or curries or something stupid.

Hmm having said that I'm starving and could murder a could curry right now!

Hope that helps and good luck with your exams.

Ben

A snowHead

A snowHead

Wayne, As I understand it not even the top qualified Canadians can teach in France and Italy, as they are not part of the "Euro group". I also don't think CSIA can even get you an ISIA stamp anymore? What I was told is that the CSIA weren't complying with the ISIA minimum standards, but rather than change their qualification they chose to opt out of ISIA, as the vast majority of their members teach in Canada so ISIA not so important.

You're absolutely right in what you say. I know a number of people who started off doing a CSIA gap year course, but once they decided to follow a career as an instructor they swapped to BASI.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I think only the Canadian level 4 instructors can qualify for ISIA now, it used to be the level 3's but not anymore. It was explained to me the same as what beanie1, said above that most of their instructors only work in Canada so they don't really care about the rest of the world and working overseas.....perhaps a little naive but whatever. I have got my APSI (Australian) level 2 which does still qualify you to get your ISIA stamp as long as you have a 2nd language, avalanche and first aid course as well (only basic knowledge). I can't seem to get much info from that attachment Wayne, I just got a 4 page document with some brief info in it, I was expecting a full on list of international qualifications that are required for your ISIA, perhaps I mis-understood, I'm in Australia, its night time and I'm tired Sad

plus I'm only a ski instructor so not very clever when the floor isn't covered in snow (which it isn't in Melbourne unfortunately).

That said I'm off to bed, early start tomorrow blah blah blah.

L8r sk8rs!

You need to Login to know who's really who.

The document Wayne, has linked to is just part of the document, I'm sure there's a longer one that goes into more detail.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You'll need to Register first of course.

In 1998? Surely if it was going to be competition it would have established itself by now?

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

beanie1,
Maybe it's a little like the Baseball World Series or just the USA not happy at not being in charge of something

After all it is free

Wayne, sounds about right!

I have saved up quite a chunk of cash as Im planning on doing an 'all in' course in Whistler with basecamp. Having read some of the above posts though Im considering doing it off my own back once IM out there.
The course will obviously be way more expensive but it's not like Im paying just to be out there - on top of the accomodatin and food I will be getting about 20 hours of coaching a week and will know what to expect in the exam. If I don't go on the course Im worried I'll develop bad habits that I wont notice. Another thing is that I heard Whistler is a nightmare to find accomodation, especially this year with the olympics being on, so taking that hassle out the picture is a massive bonus.

what to do!!! Has anybody experienced finding a place in Whistler of their own back? Did you sort it out before getting there or once you arrived?

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

alexhm, Can you ski already? You might be struggling for accomodation in Whistler this season if you can't get out there immediately (& before the Aussie invasion) & end up with Seasonnaires or another accom provider anyway.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

I've been ski-ing for years but Im def not at instructor standard. The accomodation is a major factor in me thinking about going with an all inclusive course, as Im not going to be able to afford to head out until the end of dec - basecamp has a course starting at the beginning of jan. Figured there would be absolutely no chance of finding somewhere that late in the season, and seasonaires seem to practically charge the same as a course just for accom!
cheers

snow reports

Last season we had a couple of guys in ski school who had done the rookie academy course in CO, and qualified to PSIA L2. However, although they were obviously good enough to pass the exam, neither of them had the experence or depth of knowledge that is normally expected of a L2 instructor.

And the system is very different in the States than in Europe - if you're not going to be teaching in the US then don't bother with PSIA. However, if you can work in the US it will be a cheaper way to go - most ski schools take on unqualified instructors and offer training and support while you work. Most people take and pass L1 during their 1st season, and L2 by the end of their second or third season.

pollittcl, how did the PSIA L2 differ to a BASI L2? Because to get to BASI L2 you really don't need much experience either - minimum of 70 hours shadowing.

You know it makes sense.

Interesting thread, so thought I'd throw something into the mix. Yes, there are lots of ways to start your career as a Ski Instructor, not least choosing which system of qualification to choose and I'm not about to compare the relative merits of differing systems. However, (if) having chosen to join the BASI system the key options to move from Level 1 to the Level 2 are either to join a programme that offers all the components in one package or to figure it out individually.

Bearing in mind that along with the Level 1 module you need to complete the Safeguarding Children module (on line), 35 hours shadowing and a first aid qualification, then do a further 35 hours shadowing, plus the training and practice that is invariably needed to make the step up to Level 2 standards there is a lot to do.

The question on how best to achieve this can only be answered by each individual based on their motivation and core goals.

When I was running Gap courses for BASI in Andorra and Aosta there were a number of skiers who's motivation was purely the enjoyment of their Gap year, the skiing and qualification was not that important to them and they had no desire to pursue a teaching career; whilst there were also others who had the focus and ambition to use their 10 wk Gap as a springboard for their skiing careers, in fact there are a few who have gone on to achieve their Level 4 ISTD and even a couple who have now joined the Training staff.

A number of years ago we (BASS Morzine) recognised that many BASI members wanted quality training but didn't want to be constrained to a 10 week programme where the rest of the group may or may not have similar motivations. So we set up a Fastrack programme. After a little evolution it now runs as a 13 wk, non residential programme in Morzine. We run the groups to our core philosophies of max 6 per group and structured practice time. As well as the Level 1 & 2 modules we run 2 personal performance weeks but the rest of the time is based on 2 hour alternate day contact giving plenty of practice time for the skiers to make and consolidate change and also to benefit from the 70 hours total shadowing they need to complete. We expect a high level self responsibility, commitment and discipline from those who sign up - we put in a lot of time and effort in training them and we expect them to put in at least the same time and effort to achieve their personal goals.

For me, the joy of this programme is the high level of training and "on-snow" time but with the freedom for each skier to decide their own accommodation and other expenses and I believe the £2,650.00 price, including all the necessary modules is very good value for money allowing you to choose how to spend the rest of your budget.

Inevitably I'm sure the questions of Level 2's working in France will arise, at the end of the programme those who have been successful and have shown their commitment and application to the course will get an un-official placement and have the opportunity to work in some of the schools in Italy & Switzerland we have close links with.

This isn't meant to be a plug, just explaining that there are other ways to do it.....

Ski well.....

Have a look at "Fastrack 13 Week Instructor Training Programme" at this link to see more http://www.britishskischool.com/morzine/courses.htm

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

beanie1, I haven't a clue how the two systems compare, but when comparing the two instructors in question with other newly qualified L2s the depth of knowledge and the ease of teaching just wasn't there, although their skiing was certainly good enough. A lot of what was missing was in how to deal with students and class handling, but it also included knowing more than a couple of ways of teaching a specific skill, and how to tailor the lesson to different ages. Our L2s cover the widest client base on the mountain, being able to teach over 90% of people who have a lesson - that's a lot of different types of lessons!

A snowHead

Help!!

Ski Instructor Courses (long ones)

snowHeads Forum Index >>> Bend ze Knees